Connery played unfit boxer Malcolm 'Mountain' McClintock in the play Requiem for a Heavyweight, which was broadcast live on the BBC in 1957.

Director Alvin Rakof told BBC News: "He was tall, good-looking and had charisma from the start."

Requiem for a Heavyweight was written for US television and originally starred Jack Palance in the lead role. Rakof said it was his future wife, actress Jacqueline Hill, who convinced him to hire Connery to replace Palance, despite him just taking extra roles at the time.

He said: "I got a call from his [Palance's] agent who said, 'Jack ain't gonna show'. Something better had come up and he didn't want to come to England.

"She [Jacqueline] said, 'Have you seen Sean?... The ladies will like him', which was quite a remarkable statement but it was true, women adored him and so I called him and narrowed it to two fellows and Sean got it."

In the recording, Connery's Scottish accent can be heard - despite the character being written as an American.

The 87-year-old director said: "We worked hard and long on the accent, he was trying but couldn't get rid of some of the Scottishness and in fact Michael Barry, who was the head of drama at the time, came to rehearsals and he said, 'Are you sure you want to go ahead with this guy, I don't think he can do it'.

"I said, 'Michael I can assure you he can do it'."

Watch a clip from Dr No, Sean Connery's first outing as James Bond, below: